Lin Xue could have been considered to have stumbled upon the situation by chance earlier, but the man with glasses now saw clearly that Lin Xue had indeed beaten people up, and quite severely at that. One after another, they were being beaten. Now, it was almost the glasses-wearing man's turn.
"Miss, stop hitting! Whether you are human or ghost, I believe you!"
In the face of overwhelming power, this man with glasses, clearly educated, at least knew to step back. He couldn't stubbornly resist when he was about to be beaten, as that would be asking for it.
"It's not easy, you know fear now?"
Although the sky had brightened, the snow outside continued to fall relentlessly. In the face of nature, humans were so insignificant. That refined man and his subordinates were all trapped in this cave.
"It's still snowing, and we don't know when it will stop. Everything is uncertain. Leaving the two of you might be useful."
"You're wise. You are indeed useful. I possess extraordinary skills, and my master is no ordinary person. You'd best not harbor any intentions of harming us; it will do you no good."
After Lin Xue's threat, it seemed to have a real effect, and a temporary peace settled. Neither the refined man nor Ye Tiancheng intended to provoke a conflict.
The refined man wanted to say something to ease the atmosphere, but he was directly rebuffed by Ye Tiancheng.
"Brother with glasses, I'm sorry, but you drugged us with sleeping powder, which is quite embarrassing. I don't believe a single word you say, not even punctuation."
Since Ye Tiancheng had already said that, the refined man, who still had some pride, didn't say anything further. He mainly wanted to joke with his brothers to alleviate the awkwardness.
"Why don't you bring out whatever food you have and eat something together? It might foster some camaraderie."
The refined man saw Ye Tiancheng trying to stay quiet in a corner and suddenly proposed a new idea.
He was once again rebuffed by Ye Tiancheng, "Brother, you're quite amusing. You have a head, but I suspect it's purely decorative, just to make you look taller? Stop trying to strike up a conversation. Once the snow stops, we'll go our separate ways, and never cross paths again."
"Alright, we get it. We know you look down on us hunters. We're just rough folk, so we'll shut up, okay?"
The refined man was adept at turning the tables, directly shifting the blame to Ye Tiancheng, accusing him of looking down on them hunters, and completely omitting his own shameful act of drugging them.
"It would be a great help if you could just shut up. Don't make me angry again. I have a terrible temper and might end up cursing."
Ye Tiancheng just wanted the snow outside to stop. He didn't want to be around these people, feeling they had no bottom line and could do anything.
Their eyes were filled with a sinister glint. They appeared friendly, but in reality, they were full of wicked intentions. If Lin Xue hadn't been protected by her spiritual energy, the two of them would likely have been killed. Ye Tiancheng couldn't forget the incident where he was almost strangled; one shouldn't forget the pain once the wound has healed.
After a few hours passed like this, the snow outside seemed to have lessened considerably. Crucially, Ye Tiancheng heard the sound of flowing water. The sound of the water wasn't loud, but it was peculiar, otherwise, Ye Tiancheng wouldn't have heard it.
"Xue'er, did you hear that? I think I hear flowing water."
"That's normal. Perhaps there's water near this cave. By the way, Master, if there is water, doesn't that mean we've found what we're looking for?"
The two of them had been trying to find water here all along without success. Now, by chance, they had found it.
"Yes, let's hurry out and take a look. I feel like we're getting closer to what we want."
In front of these hunters, whose morality was unclear, Ye Tiancheng dared not mention it yet. What if they found out about the snow lotus? Who knew what intentions they might have?
"You absolutely must not go out. Think about it, how can there be the sound of flowing water in the middle of winter? These are outside demons and monsters, deliberately trying to lure you. The so-called sound of flowing water is merely an illusion they've created. Seeing water is your death sentence. My brother died just like this before. A brother who was with him, the two of them saw water and were dragged into the river. The water was inhabited by water monkeys. Normal rivers would have frozen by now. The reason this one hasn't is the illusion created by the water monkeys."
Could this person truly be so kind? Ye Tiancheng and Lin Xue had finally found a glimmer of hope, only to be told it was an illusion created by water monkeys. They were somewhat unwilling to give up. Having come so far, they wouldn't retreat just because of a little danger. No matter what, they had to try it themselves. Only after trying and failing could they be truly resigned.
"We're truly not lying. My brother died a terrible death, as if dragged into the water by something. There were handprints on his feet, it was very terrifying. I think it's best if you stay alive. We gave you sleeping pills yesterday because we were worried you two were bad people who came to this mountain to steal rare medicinal herbs."
Ye Tiancheng had dismissed everything the refined man had said as nonsense. However, when medicinal herbs were mentioned, Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Their master and disciple had come specifically for the snow lotus. It seemed that the existence of rare medicinal herbs here wasn't just known to the two of them; others knew about it now.
"Even if we are here for medicinal herbs, this mountain isn't yours. Why did you have to drug us? How can you expect us to trust you like this?"
What Ye Tiancheng said was quite reasonable. Then, he heard the refined man say, "If you truly want to explore this mountain, I advise you to leave immediately. Many local people have already died here. If it weren't for my brothers and I having lucky escapes, we would have been harmed by this eerie place long ago."
"You seem to know a lot. Aren't you also here for rare medicinal herbs? Otherwise, in the middle of winter, what prey would you have? Even if you worked hard to catch a few wild boars or pheasants, they wouldn't be worth much."
Ye Tiancheng had seen through this group of people. They were momentarily embarrassed and didn't know how to refute Ye Tiancheng, as what he said was quite accurate. They were also looking for treasures in this forest, but they had been trying for almost two years with no success, and instead, many people had died.
"Sir, please don't talk nonsense. We are honest hunters, local honest folk. How could we risk our lives for a few precious things? It's impossible to even think about it."
"You're really funny. I believe others are hunters, but you, from your appearance, are educated. You're not from around here, are you? Coming here for some precious things, only an educated person like you would engage in such a profitable business. To me, this is an investment."
Ye Tiancheng had guessed all his intentions, and the refined man fell silent. Lin Xue had taken this opportunity to take a look outside. "Master, there is indeed a river outside. It seemed to be blocked by leaves before, and only now has it revealed itself. It looks shimmering, which is indeed a bit eerie in the middle of winter."
"Never mind that. We'll search around here tonight. I think we're getting closer to what we want."
Since they had set out, Ye Tiancheng hadn't smiled once. This might have been a premonition. At this moment, Ye Tiancheng finally smiled happily, revealing two rows of white teeth.
When night fell, the master and disciple searched around the river. Fortunately, Lin Xue had sharp eyes and immediately spotted the blooming snow lotus.
They were already quite fortunate, as if guided by heaven, otherwise, they wouldn't have found what they wanted so quickly.
Ye Tiancheng quickly picked the snow lotus and placed it in his embrace. Suddenly, the ground began to shake as if the heavens and earth were about to collapse. At the critical moment, Ye Tiancheng could only lead Lin Xue into the cave. Those bandits were still in the cave because the snow hadn't stopped. The awkward part was that the cave entrance collapsed, trapping them all inside.
After nearly ten more minutes of shaking, everything finally calmed down. Now, it was the hunters' turn to panic.
"What do we do,大哥? The entrance seems to be blocked, and we can't get out."
The subordinates began to panic. Ye Tiancheng held the snow lotus tightly against his chest. At that moment, he felt that as long as his life could be saved, everything was filled with hope.
"Master, how do we get out?"
"The snow has gotten even heavier. We can't get out even if we want to. Looking at the situation, we'll have to wait for the snow to subside a bit."
After Ye Tiancheng finished speaking, he ate the snow lotus. Immediately, a righteous energy filled his body, specifically designed to suppress dark energy. It didn't have any special effect on the recovery of Ye Tiancheng's true qi.
"Our food is limited, and we don't know how long we'll have to wait here. Sir, you and your disciple, if you have any food, bring it out so we can all share, otherwise, we will all die."
Ye Tiancheng glared at the refined man and said nothing. He had eaten the snow lotus in such a hurry earlier because he was afraid it would be snatched away. This snow lotus was a priceless treasure. If the refined man discovered it and snatched it away, Ye Tiancheng's trip would have been in vain.
"Everyone conserve your strength. If we can't get out in another 10 hours, we'll use explosives to blow open this cave. Even if there are some losses, we won't hesitate. We can't worry about that much at this point."
After the refined man gave the order, everyone agreed. Then, the entire cave fell silent. Everyone tried to minimize their breathing to conserve energy, as they didn't know how long they would be trapped here. In reality, everyone had a bit of nervousness in their hearts, but no one was willing to admit it.
"It's all your fault. It's because you came here that you brought disaster upon us." The refined man said nothing, but his subordinate looked indignant, seemingly wanting to teach Ye Tiancheng and Lin Xue a lesson.
"Is it really okay for you to confront us like this? Don't you also want to find treasure? We're all living on the edge of a knife. Why blame me for everything?"
"Did you just obtain a treasure? Why aren't you sharing it with us? Do you know that a dragon cannot suppress a local snake? If you don't want to hand over the item, then you might also be in trouble."